Hey Y’all! Welcome to my very first episode of Slam Saturdays! Because this is the very first one, ever, I decided to give you a brief explanation as to what to expect on these days. First off, with the exception of some brief explanations or maybe the occasional relating anecdote, Slam Saturdays are gonna have relatively little written opinion or direction from me. I’ve been in to Spoken Word poetry for about a decade now, and one thing I have always found is that another person’s explanation or introduction to the poem or poet often does it (or them) little to no justice. So I won’t even bother wasting your or my time with such things.

Secondly, I wanted you all to understand exactly why it is that I’m introducing this weekly feature to my blog. Unlike all the other features I have introduced (like Ruby Rants or Classic Contemplations, for example) this will actually be a feature you see each and every week, each and every Saturday. The reason? Other than the very obvious answer of “I love me my Spoken Word”, I wanted to find a way of reincorporating it into my life. I wanted a reason, an excuse almost, to spend hours at least once a week pouring over the new and old artists and poems, trying to find that special piece that touches my heart and speaks to my soul. And although I refuse to make this blog my person diary, y’all know I share myself and my thoughts and feelings here…you don’t need a replay of my day-by-day to know who I am at the core. Slam Saturdays will be a way of you getting to see the issues that I feel are important, topics that truly touch me, things I can relate to, hear parts of my struggle (through the words of others).

And third, I wanted to make this a damn EASY platform. Seriously. I won’t be making this a hardcore written column, something that will take a whole lotta brain power and effort to care about and comprehend. Just turn up the volumn, sit back and relax and let a stream of conciousness flow over your being, reviving your mind and refreshing your spirit. Seriously. Not sure what Spoken Word or Slam Poetry is? Trust me, if you like Classic Ruby, you’ll like Slam Saturdays…Spoken Word poetry has been at the foundation of Ruby and all that she is and believes since the dawn of time. BUT, for those of you who want a wee bit of an understanding, more of an introduction before jumping right in to our very first feature piece, I found y’all a video clip from a documentary that’ll give you that little intro. Check it out.

Get it? Got it? Good! Still a little confused? Don’t worry. You’ll catch on as the weeks go along. Now, I put a question out there as to what artist you all wanted to see on the debut of Slam Saturdays. I got a lot of responses, and I thank you all for your help. But…well, when I saw this one artist I couldn’t HELP by stick with him, making him my debut artist. I have had the pleasure of seeing him perform live. I was blown away by his very unique and soul wrenching poetry. His delivery is not the average, but yet is a very good illustration of this one fact of Spoken Word you must understand in order to truly appreciate Spoken Word Poetry: There is no “right” way of doing it. There is not “typical, socially accepted delivery”. That’s part of the beauty. And without further ado, lets kick this Slam Saturdays off!! Introducing: Ian Kamau!!

Hope you enjoyed it! That series of interconnected poetry will go down as one of my favourite Spoken Word pieces of all time!! ANNNDDD…as the debut to Slam Saturdays with Classic Ruby! Thanks for taking part in this historic Classic Ruby event! And have a safe and happy long weekend!

Cheers